1902 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
863 
SHORT STORIES. 
Practical Notes on Timely Topics. 
BICYCLES IN CALIFORNIA—In a recent R. N.-Y. 
you ask: “Where have all the bicycles gone to?” 
which is a conundrum I think I can answer. They 
are here in southern California. With roads always 
good and weather always fine they are of real value, 
and people all use them. Children ride them to 
school. Dozens of wheels may be seen about the 
schoolhouse every school day. Sunday they are in 
evidence beside the churches. The curb along the 
streets is thick with them. Old men and women, 
middle-aged and young ride. Everybody rides. The 
wheel has come to stay in sunny California. 
Covina, Cal. . J. H. v. 
DISCUSSING A PICKLE CROP—I took a contract 
to grow cucumbers for a pickle factory last Spring. I 
should like to see a discussion on the way I grew 
them; it appears to me one should be able to improve 
on these methods of production and probably increase 
the crop. I plowed down a crop of Fall rye and after 
three weeks furrowed out every four feet, making 
heaps every three feet of a big forkful of manure 
(mostly horse), covering and mixing with the soil 
fish refuse, using about 600 pounds to the acre. The 
cultivator was kept going until plants grew too big. 
The seed was sown the end of May; I planted Boston 
Pickling. The land was not considered rich before 
I planted the cucumbers; it is high stony land well 
drained. I sold 10 tons off the acre. Have I used the 
most prolific variety? The factory is agreeable to 
take any kind but White Spine as long as the cu¬ 
cumbers are not at all ripe. Would I get as good re¬ 
sults if I broadcast manure, ridging up 
the land, and using artificial manure in 
the ridges? This method would consid¬ 
erably lessen cost. c. r. s. 
New Westminster, B. C. 
THE HENRY PEAR.—1 write to cor¬ 
rect a statement on page 816 In regard 
to the Henry pear. In the Transactions 
of the Illinois Horticultural Society for 
1891 (meeting held at Olney), can be 
found the following: “A new pear was 
exhibited by W. S. Ross, of Alma; con¬ 
sidered worthy of premium. It was 
(there) named the Henry. We would 
recommend it as worthy of further 
trial.” As I remember, the exhibitor 
said it was one of about 15 seedlings, 
all of which had died from blight ex¬ 
cept one tree, and this because of its 
possible freedom from blight the com¬ 
mittee thought worth saving for further 
trial and named it after the one who 
planted the seeds. The fruit was in 
size and shape much like Louise Bonne, 
the flavor was fair, but there was a 
slight astringency. The control of this 
variety soon passed into the hands of 
Mr. Mendenhall, of Kinmundy, who dis¬ 
seminated it. It did not prove as re¬ 
sistant of blight as was expected, and 
therefore not so valuable as the award¬ 
ing committee had hoped. It is now pretty well 
known that the absolutely blight-proof pear does not 
exist, and it may be a question whether we may not 
say the same of the apple. benj. buckman. 
Illinois, 
CLOVER FOR POULTRY.—Can you inform me 
whether the growing of clover hay to be cut or shred¬ 
ded for sale to poultry plants is likely to prove a pro¬ 
fitable branch of farming? The prices charged, and 
presumably obtained, by dealers in poultry supplies 
would lead one to infer that poultry would prove more 
profitable customers than four-footed live stock. Tne 
dazzling profits, on paper, of squabs, chestnuts, 
skunk farms, frog ponds and other plans for quickly 
“raising the wind” from the farm, outside the well- 
beaten roads towards financial happiness, might de¬ 
ter one from venturing again into the realms of the 
“schemer.” Will some one kindly “testify and give 
’sperlence?” J. i>- 
Charlestown. N. H. 
UNCLE SAM’S “FREE SEED” CONTRACTS — 
While in Rocky Ford. Col., last year I learned that a 
new industry had sprung up on the outskirts of the 
town, gathering muskmelon seeds for filling a Gov¬ 
ernment contract; the Department of Agriculture hav¬ 
ing need for 15,000 pounds of the Netted Gem 
(Rocky Ford) variety, to be distributed by the Con¬ 
gressmen among their rural friends. Of an investi¬ 
gating turn of mind, I strolled into a field where 
two men were engaged in harvesting a seed crop. It 
was about the middle of November, and there had 
been several nights of freezing weather, but tbe men 
appeared to think that the germinating powers of 
the seed would not be injured, and that their work 
could be continued indefinitely. The fruit from which 
the seed was being saved was that which had been 
rejected in picking for market, as being too large or 
too small and the immatnire specimens which had 
been caught by frost. Some of the melons had burst 
open and the seeds were beginning to sprout, but 
none was wasted; they would all weigh! I was told, 
however, that sample lots of seed were taken from 
each sack and submitted to a germinative test, pre¬ 
sumably by the contractor, who received 14 cents per 
pound, and who sublet contracts to local dealers at 
II and 12 cents, and who in their turn, paid the har¬ 
vester 10 cents per pound for the seed delivered. I 
purchased a small amount of seed for my own plant¬ 
ing, from a grower who was quite particular to save 
only from standard size, well-netted and early-matur¬ 
ing specimens, paying $1.50 per pound, which the 
grower stated was about the market value of the 
melons from which this seed was saved. Are you 
flattered in receiving this mark of attention from 
your representative—a packet of nondescript varie¬ 
ties of seeds, of undoubtedly cheap quality? Are 
they worth giving garden room and attention 
throughout the season? And is this a part of the edu¬ 
cational policy of our paternal Government? 
W. A. W. 
SHORT TALKS ON PLANT FOOD. 
Charcoal as a Fertilizer. 
Is charcoal dust, or small particles of charcoal of ary 
value as a fertilizer? j. s. b. 
Everett, Mass. 
Little if any plant food value, yet we know that a 
substance may have but little nitrogen, potash or 
phosphoric acid, and yet help produce increased crops. 
Charcoal may help the farmer in several ways. It has 
wonderful power to absorb and hold gases. In teach¬ 
ing agricultural chemistry a practical illustration of 
this is sometimes given by burying a rat or small cat 
in a heap of charcoal. After a few weeks it will be 
found that most of the flesh of this animal has dis¬ 
appeared. Yet the heap of charcoal has not given off 
foul odors, as it has absorbed and held the ammonia 
and other gases. Let this charcoal be worked into 
the soil in a flower pot or in a cultivated field and it 
will yield up the “plant food” taken from the body 
of the rat or cat to cultivated plants. Thus charcoal 
mixed with other absorbents and used in the trench 
behind the stock or put into the manure pile may 
hold plant food that would otherwise be wasted. Ex¬ 
periments are reported where charcoal when plowed 
into the soil Increased a crop of turnips. It was 
thought that the charcoal started some action in the 
soil which made the plant food more available. An¬ 
other way in which charcoal helps is by giving soil a 
darker color. This darker color enables the soil to 
absorb heat and warm up faster in Spring. In this 
way some naturally cold soils may be “quickened” 
so that they may be worked earlier and planted to 
garden crops. If we could buy charcoal dust at a 
bargain we would throw part of it to the hogs and use 
the remainder in the stable or in the manure or 
spread it on the heavy sod before plowing. 
Lime for Soil, Plaster for Stable. 
Will you let us know which Is the most valued as a 
fertilizer, pound for pound, to use on land, stone lime or 
land plaster? c. b. 
Middletown, Del. 
To give a short answer, stone lime, yet such a ques¬ 
tion cannot be answered in two words. Both sub¬ 
stances contain lime, but in the stone lime this is 
combined with carbonic acid, while in the plaster it is 
combined with sulphuric acid. When these combina¬ 
tions “break up” so that the lime is free to do its 
work quite different results are to be expected. Sup¬ 
pose your wife asked which is worth most per pound 
for cooking, salt or cooking soda! You would see at 
once that it was not a fair question, since you would 
not eat food “salted” with cooking soda. Yet both 
of these substances are combinations of soda, the salt 
with chlorine and the cooking soda with carbonic 
acid. The kitchen work they are expected to do varies 
about as widely as the farm work expected from stone 
lime and plaster. To illustrate this, take two sam¬ 
ples of moist hen manure—mix stone lime with one 
and plaster with the other. If you are familiar with 
the peculiar smell of ammonia you will find that the 
stone lime is driving it away from the manure, while 
the plaster is retaining it. Without some knowledge 
of chemistry it is hard to make clear just how this 
is done, but we. may say that when the stone lime 
“breaks up” in the manure the carbonic acid unites 
with the ammonia so as to form a gas which passes 
off into the atmosphere. On the other hand, when 
the plaster “breaks up” the sulphuric acid forms a 
solid with the ammonia which remains. With this 
knowledge no one would put the stone lime on ma¬ 
nure or use it as an absorbent in the stable, because 
there is where you want to retain the ammonia, and 
not to set it free. For much the same reason good 
farmers do not now use much plaster directly upon 
the soil, while stone lime is being used more and 
more. It “sweetens” the soil, acts upon the organic 
matter and supplies lime as direct plant food—doing 
all these things lar better than the 
plaster. In former years plaster was 
used largely by good farmers, but since 
potash and phosphoric acid have be¬ 
come cheaper its use has been largely 
given up except as an absorbent in the 
stable. Lime for the soil, plaster for 
the stable, is a safe motto, but no man 
can expect to farm successfully for any 
length of time by the use of lime alone. 
It will thus be seen that the above ques¬ 
tion is much like asking whether the 
wood in a hoe handle is worth more 
than that in a shovel. But little of the 
work which one is to do can be done 
by the other. 
PRUNING GRAPEVINES. 
I much prefer to prune grapevines in 
the Fall or early in the Winter, when 
the wood is not frozen. I have an arbor 
through the garden and enough vines 
in other rows to make about 40 in all. 
Most of these have been planted for 10 
years. The soil is a clay loam of 
medium fertility. The location is 
near Washington, D. C. My method 
of pruning is the same as that 
which I practiced in my own vine¬ 
yard work. I aim to grow my next 
season crop of grapes on about 
three or four canes of this season’s growth. The mid¬ 
summer treatment of these canes consisted in fre¬ 
quently pinching them back for the purpose of fully 
developing the canes and buds. I have found that 
strong, vigorous canes five to six feet in length, 
grown in this way, are much less liable to be affect¬ 
ed by the Grape rot. Each season I also cut back two 
or three of the oldest vines that seem to be most sub¬ 
ject to the rot. I cut off the entire vine two or three 
Inches above the ground and only three or four canes 
are allowed to grow from the short stump of the 
parent vine during next season. I have found this 
method a partial preventive of the Grape rot, owing 
in part, no doubt, to the principle that a vigorous vine 
is less liable to disease than an older and more feeble 
one. The main pruning of the vines, other than those 
grown from the short stub at the ground, consisted 
in shortening back this season’s growth of wood, leav¬ 
ing but two or three buds next to the old wood of the 
parent vine. I also cut out a considerable portion of 
the old canes each season, so as to increase the vigor 
of the remaining canes that are to bear fruit, as well 
as to promote a vigorous growth of the canes that 
start within 18 or 20 inches from the ground. 
Glencarlyn, V'a. w. m. k. 
Jonathan Apples in West Virginia. 
Is the Jonathan apple well suited to the region of 
Martlnsburg, W. Va.? reader. 
West Virginia. 
Yes, Jonathan is grown to some extent in the vieln- 
ity of Martinsburg, and it does well there, with this 
exception, that it is not a good keeper. It has the 
fault of developing black specks In the skin, which 
at first only disfigure the apples but finally Induce 
rot. This is different from bitter rot, and seems to 
be peculiar to the Jonathan apple. However, if the 
fruit is gathered in proper season it will meet with 
ready sale and is excellent for home use. There are 
few apples that equal Jonathan in quality and beauty. 
H. E. Y. D. 
